


This City Is My City

by alistoney



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Domestic, Fluff, Introspection, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Magnus' past, New York, they both love their city, tipsy boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-22 20:32:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18534979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alistoney/pseuds/alistoney
Summary: “What’re you thinking about, Beautiful?” Alec murmured, ducking under Magnus’ arm and burrowing into his side.Magnus hummed and moved the hand holding his drink out of the way of Alec’s long limbs.“New York.”Or late night conversations





	This City Is My City

**Author's Note:**

> I have so many headcanons of Magnus' past and I needed to put them somewhere so here you go. 
> 
> I will say that although I’ve read tmi and tid I haven’t read the Bane Chronicles or anything else in the Shadowhunter chronicles so if anything in here goes against Magnus’ past in the books that’s why
> 
> Title from My City by Patrick Stump
> 
> Also special thank you to paperiuni, bagell, and Lacey for looking at this for me

Magnus lay back in the chaise on the balcony, shirt unbuttoned to the navel by Alexander’s fingers, and sighed into the summer air. He could still feel the lingering heat of lazy lips on his skin. 

He smiled contently and let his eyes roam slowly over the smoky New York sky, the city lights brightening the darkness of night. He remembered being annoyed by the constant light when he’d first settled in Brooklyn, had even used magic to dim the brightness that spilled in through his windows those first few weeks in the loft. 

Alec’s socked footsteps sounded, soft and slow, as he stepped back out onto the balcony, two cocktail glasses in his hands. He handed one to Magnus with a soft smile and brush of lips against his temple. 

“What’re you thinking about, Beautiful?” he murmured, ducking under Magnus’ arm and burrowing into his side. 

Magnus hummed and moved the hand holding his drink out of the way of Alec’s long limbs. 

“New York.” 

Alec gazed up through thick eyelashes and smiled. 

“Hmm, the city that never sleeps.” 

His speech was slow, almost lazy in the way that only gin could make it. 

“That fact was something I wasn’t quite sure I liked at first.” 

Alec turned his head to look up at Magnus curiously. His blinks were slow and lazy. 

“Really?” 

Magnus was reminded then of how different their lives were. Alec had lived in New York his entire life, there wasn’t anything else he knew. Nothing for him to miss. 

Magnus had spent decades traipsing through Europe and Asia with their centuries of history. He felt at home amongst it, young in the face of centuries-old colosseums and architecture from the Middle Ages and ancient civilizations. The US was different. New York was different. It was new. It was bright and bustling with life. With people reaching for the American Dream. 

He hadn’t liked it at first. Had felt impossibly old beside skyscrapers and a night that never seemed to darken. 

“I’d spent most of my life in Europe. New York and its ever-present life was jarring at first,” Magnus said softly, fingers moving to card through Alec’s hair. Alec made a humming sound of contentment but he kept his eyes trained on Magnus, listening with a single-minded focus. 

That was something Magnus wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to. Alec always listened. He  _ wanted  _ to hear about where Magnus had been and the people he’d known before him. He never pushed for information, but the earnest way in which he hung onto every word that passed Magnus’ lips made Magnus want to tell him everything. 

“I remember once when I was fifteen and Aline came to visit,” Alec started, a half formed smile already on his lips. Magnus loved when Alec shared little bits of his past. It was a rare occurrence, but every now and then he’d smile that half smile and tell Magnus stories of a young Shadowhunter with far too much on his shoulders. Magnus always listened intently, wanted to know everything that made Alec the man here in front of him today. He supposed that was why Alec always held onto every word of Magnus’ past as well. They both wanted to know every part of each other. 

“We had gone out on a night patrol,” Alec continued, smile growing, “and Aline was so convinced that there was no way it could be midnight because it was so bright. I realized then that New York wasn’t exactly the norm, but that I loved it anyway.” 

Magnus laughed and pictured a younger, scrawnier version of his Shadowhunter, standing in the New York night with his bow in hand and realizing how special his city was. 

“I love it too,” Magnus said softly, moving his gaze back out to the skyline. The lights on the Brooklyn Bridge twinkled against the sky.

The two of them sat in silence for a few long moments. Magnus could feel Alec’s quiet breaths against his neck and was almost sure Alec had dozed off when he spoke again.

“What changed your mind?” he asked Magnus softly, “How’d you fall in love?” 

Alec’s eyes were so bright as he asked the question. Magnus knew he was talking about New York but a part of him wanted to talk about falling for  _ him _ . His Alexander who held his heart with such care. 

Instead, Magnus stared up at the sky and tried to think of the answer to Alec’s question.

Magnus had stumbled into New York sometime in the 20s. Had lived through prohibition and spent countless nights in the most popular speakeasies, drinking and smoking and learning the ins and outs of this new city he called home. 

That was how he’d fallen in love, he thinks. From the people and their unwavering desire to create. Music, and culture and joy. New York didn’t have the same history as some of the other places Magnus had lived. It wasn’t the church-filled Milan, or rainy London with its clocktowers and old stories. It was  _ new.  _ It hadn’t been touched by time quite yet. Not like Magnus. But it was one of  the first places he’d felt well and truly responsible for. The first place he’d been tasked to protect. 

He thought about the people he’d met, and the relationships formed with both mundanes and downworlders alike, and couldn’t help but smile. 

“I started falling for it slowly,” Magnus replied, “through secret drinking and underground jazz concerts. Through Downworld parties that tended to go straight on until dawn.” 

Magnus grinned and remembered a particular party hosting a grumpy vampire that had hid in the corner all night until Magnus had coaxed him outside and away from the festivities. 

The grin fell from his lips as he remembered another kind of Downworld gathering. Of creating portals to safe houses around the world and trying to keep people calm. Of The Uprising. 

“But I wasn’t sure until after The Uprising,” Magnus said quietly, leaning into the soothing touch of Alec’s fingers over his chest. “When I was elected the High Warlock of Brooklyn. When I was tasked to protect the city, when it became my responsibility. That was the moment I really knew that I’d fallen in love.” 

Magnus hadn’t meant to be so honest when he’d started answering the question but there was something about Alec that lowered all the walls he’d so carefully built. Magnus knew by now that Alec wouldn’t break him.

Alec smiled like he understood, and Magnus was startled to realize that he did. Because he’d been protecting New York his entire life. He knew that sense of responsibility Magnus felt deep inside of him everytime he walked the streets or looked over the skyline. 

“You need love to protect,” Alec said softly. 

And he was right.   
  


**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed!! 
> 
> comments and kudos are always appreciated
> 
> Tumblr: [lightwormsiblings](https://lightwormsiblings.tumblr.com)  
> Twitter: [alistoney1](https://mobile.twitter.com/alistoney1)


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